


With the Hand of My Best Friend

by DontKillBugs



Series: Lena: Healing a Little Every Day [1]
Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, If you love me let me goooooooooooo, Magic of love, Pre-Relationship, Unapologetically Sappy, a couple of small stephen king references, descriptions of an arm being broken, descriptions of eldritch horrors, gay ducks, heavily inspired by the ending of ghostbusters 2016, lena gets the happy ending she deserves, probably some nerve damage too, with apologies to paul feig
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-06-19 00:59:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15498765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DontKillBugs/pseuds/DontKillBugs
Summary: Written prior to the Season 1 finale. After Magica is banished during the final battle, Webby is dragged into Hell with with her. Lena will not stand for that.





	With the Hand of My Best Friend

With a sound like a thunderclap, Magica's spell dissipated.

The witch was flung backward, landing roughly on her back. Where the her spell and Clan McDuck's had collided, the portal reopened in the center of McDuck Manor's courtyard. The shadowy creatures she had summoned from the Space Between Spaces froze where they were, high in the air, before being dragged backward, into the portal, clawing and screaming their unintelligible demon speech.

Next to the overturned wreckage of Donald's houseboat, Clan McDuck cheered triumphantly. Scrooge nabbed his Number One Dime out of the air where it had been levitating above Lena's outstretched hands. The Dime had made a perfect impromptu totem to counteract Magica's magic. With everyone's hands linked (and, Lena smiled, Webby's hand firmly on her arm), they had been able to channel their bonds through Scrooge's Dime and defeat Magica.

 _"This is all very twee and Magic-Of-Friendship_ ," Lena thought. " _Eh, whatever works-"_

With an impossible deep roar, as if she had magic running through her vocal cords, Magica leapt to her feet and charged at Clan McDuck. However, she suddenly was stopped in her tracks. The portal had chosen her, just as she had opened it before to emerge from her prison, and now it was intent on dragging her in as it closed. The witch thrashed in the grip of the interdimensional gate, fighting it every step of the way. The color faded from her feathers and hair, returning to the pitch black it used to be. Within seconds, there was only a black, Magica-shaped mass, writhing in the grip of the portal's magical suction.

Magica's red eyes turned on Lena. They were wide and frightened, a sight Lena took great pride in. The witch began to beg. "Lena! Please! Help me! Show some mercy!"

Webby, her hand still on Lena's, pointed an accusing finger at Magica. "Ha! Since when have you ever cared about mercy, you awful hag!"

"Please, please, don't send me back! You don't know what it's like! Scroogie, please! Save me!"

Scrooge pointed his cane at her. "Not another word outta ye, you thrice-darned Baba Yaga! Back to whence ye came, and tell the Devil I'm comin' fer him next!"

Lena's eyes were drawn away from her aunt by the feel of a hand sliding down her arm to cup her own. There was Webby, beaming, her eyes shining in a way Lena had never seen before. Lena felt something expand inside her chest, feeling so happy she might burst-

**" _I. Will Not. Go back. Alone!"_**

With a final burst of hate-filled strength, Magica leapt forward, straining against the pull of the portal, her extended claws aimed straight for Lena.

It happened so fast. Lena saw Webby's expression change.

Felt Webby's hands against her own chest.

Felt Webby shove her backwards.

Saw Magica's claws wrap tightly around Webby, even as she fell.

Heard everyone's screams of horror as Magica was snapped back toward the portal, Webby in tow.

Saw Dewey desperately grab for Webby, only to snatch a handful of air.

Saw Webby struggling in Magica's grasp.

Saw Magica and Webby vanish into the open portal, soundlessly.

 

Falling sideways, Lena's mind went blank.

 

 

 

 

 

_Webby._

A single sneakered foot shot to the side. Her weight shifted, launching her forward. Before Lena even realized it, she was sprinting. She plowed through the triplets, bobbed around Donald and Launchpad, and ducked under the horrified Beakley's outstretched arms.

At the front of Donald's ruined houseboat was a large industrial pulley, designed for reeling in large fish on the occasional fishing trip he took with the boys. A spool of thin industrial steel cable was tightly wound into it. A length hung from the end of it, ending in a loop.

Lena, still sprinting, grabbed the loop without slowing. She wrapped it tightly around her left forearm as she ran toward the now-closing portal. Barely registering the shouts behind her, she dove into the dimensional gate, a line of thin cable trailing behind her.

 

 

For several seconds, Lena was blinded. Then, all at once, she could see. If her adrenaline hadn't been pumping, she might have wished she couldn't.

The Space Between Spaces was enormous. An infinite plane of sickly green stretched into every direction. Wreckage from Duckburg and a thousand thousand other locations floated weightlessly. She might as well have been at the bottom of the sea, or in the middle of a massive nebula. Screams echoed deafeningly from every direction. Faces appeared for brief half-seconds within bile-colored clouds. Above, occasional flashes of light illuminated what may have been an enormous queen ant, miles long and millennia old, with immeasurably long legs vanishing into the fog. Below, ancient mindless evils that dwelt in the cracks between worlds and ate dimensions for a snack looked up at Lena with blinded eyes and gaping maws the size of canyons, filled with teeth bigger than Scrooge's Money Bin. A high-pitched drone filled Lena's brain, and she somehow felt impossibly hot and freezing at the same time. She felt as if any moment, she may simply crack into pieces, and be left floating here for a thousand thousand thousand eternities.

_Webby._

Lena shook her head, and forced her eyes open wide. Her momentum from the portal was carrying her forward, the steel cable rippling behind her. Ahead was Magica, struggling to maintain a cohesive shape, yet still clutching tightly to Webby. Webby was struggling, thrashing in Magica's grip, her eyes tightly closed. A string of profanity spewed from her beak, all words Beakley had taught her not to use, every one of them an insult or curse aimed at Magica.

Magica was off her guard. The distance between them was closing. Lena stretched out her hand, and shouted.

" _WEBBY!!!"_

Webby turned, her eyes opening to a squint. A mass of shadow where Magica's head may have been suddenly turned and stared at Lena with two red eyes that turned into ten that turned into one into a thousand into two again.

With a violent squim, Webby freed a single hand from Magica's grasp. Lena swung her free hand wide, and the two girls' fingertips met, scrambled down each others' hands, and grasped each other tightly.

Suddenly, the steel cable trailing from Lena's other hand snapped taut, and began to pull back in the other direction. Lena felt herself be dragged backward a few feet, her hand still in Webby's.

Magica roared, a hideous, mind-rending sound, and yanked backward at Webby. The two ducks stopped in the middle of the void, held suspended in place by two separate forces. The cable, wrapped tightly around Lena's arm, began to tighten around her hand. If she had looked backward, she would have seen her skin bulging around the cable, turning red under the pressure as it dug into her hand.

The witch, any semblance of ducklike form completely gone, shrieked at Lena. " ** _YOU WRETCHED, INGRATEFUL SPECK! HOW DARE YOU! MY VENGEANCE! MY BLOOD FEUD! YEARS WASTED, ALL BECAUSE OF YOUUUUUUUUU!"_**

Lena felt something new flow through her, an anger so great and profound she felt she could drown all of this horrible void in it. "You used me! You used me like a puppet! You made a slave outta me! All these wasted years were wasted because you tried to use me up and spit me out, you waste of skin!"

" ** _YOU WILL NOT SPEAK TO ME THIS WAY! I AM THE SORCERESS OF THE SHADOWS! I AM THE SUPREME WITCH OF ALL THAT IS DARKNESS! YOU ARE NOTHING! YOU ARE A FORGETTABLE HICCUP IN HISTORY! YOU ARE AN ANT IN THE AFTERBIRTH OF MY GLORY! NOW CEASE BABBLING AND CROAK!"_**

Lena screamed, feeling her vocal chords burn as she channeled her own magic through them. "GIVE! ME! BACK! MY! FRIEND!!!"

One dimension and 289 feet of cable away, Huey, Dewey, and Louie dug their feet into the dirt and pulled backward with all of their strength. Behind them, Beakley had the cable wrapped in her mighty hands. Launchpad, Donald, and Scrooge held up the rear, pulling as hard as they could. The cable, the only thing keeping the portal open, remained tight before them.

Scrooge, straining with the effort, roared "PULL, YE THUNDERING PACK A' NUMPTIES! _PULL!"_

Slowly, despite, Magica's grip, the two began to move backward toward the portal. The witch shrieked, pulling just as hard in the other direction. Lena screamed as she felt something in her hand _crunch_ as the cable pulled tight around it. Her vision grew hazy from the pain. In the strange gravity of this place, she saw something red float past.

And yet, her grip on Webby's hand remained tight and unyielding, even as she slipped toward unconsciousness.

Magica roared, babbling, all sense of sanity gone. " ** _MINE! MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE MIIIIINE!!!!"_**

"LENA! LENA, WAKE UP! _WAKE UP!"_

Lena shook her head, the cruel fingers of unconsciousness fading away. Webby was looking at her, with those same bright, beautiful eyes.

"Don't you dare let her beat you! We can get out of this! Together!"

Something else crunched in Lena's other hand. She bit down on her tongue, stifling the scream that wanted to bubble out. "Webby... I don't know if I can..."

"Hey." Webby's voice, surprisingly soft. Lena opened her eyes, looking at Webby.

Webby's eyes were soft, and warm, and incredibly, she was smiling. "Whatever happens... I'm here. I promise. Even if we can't make it back. I've got you, and I'm not letting go."

Lena's beak dropped open, in shock. Even now, Webby wasn't giving up. She was so incredible like that. She never let anything bring her determination down. Not even in the face of Armageddon.

All of a sudden, something between the two of them lit up brightly, almost blindingly. There, around Webby's wrist, was the friendship bracelet she had made to represent Lena. It hadn't left her wrist since she had weaved it around itself and wrapped it around her wrist. And now, it was glowing brightly, like a star gone supernova, impossibly hot and yet comforting.

Lena and Webby's eyes, wide in shock and astonishment, met suddenly. All at once, they knew what to do.

Lena curled her elbow, her broken hand screaming in agony.

Webby forced her other hand free, grabbed Lena's other shoulder, and shifted her weight to the side.

All at once, there was nothing between the mindless mass that used to be Magica De Spell and the impossibly bright friendship bracelet.

Magic began to flow between the two of them. Lena roared, with all of her might, "WITH THE HAND-"

"OF MY BEST FRIEND-" Webby continued.

The friendship bracelet's glow intensified, sparks flying. The fog and screaming faces drew back all around them, fearing this strange new power.

Magica roared once more, but even that was drowned out by the two girls shouting in unison:

"-WE BRING ABOUT THIS WITCH'S _END!"_

The friendship bracelet discharged the magical attack, with a noise like a collapsing black hole. The Space Between Spaces was lit, everything blotted out by the brightness except, perhaps, two small silhouettes near the epicenter. Something that may have once been Magica De Spell fizzled out silently, without so much as a whisper as it passed.

For just one second, Lena De Spell had a single strange thought intrude across her brain-

_The Coming of the White!_

-before suddenly being dragged backwards, away from the blinding light, Webby's hand still clutched tightly in her own.

There was a sound like a pop-gun, the sudden impact of concrete, the smell of smoke and blood, and the sight of Webby's face, her beautiful voice screaming her name-

_She's okay_

_Thank goodness_

-before the pain became unbearable, and Lena De Spell knew no more.

 

 

 

 

Eventually, much, much later, Lena's eyes opened.

Above her, an unfamiliar ceiling. Tiles, and florescent lights. She turned her head.

A dry croak emerged from her throat. She was alive.

A sudden shift from her left, as a smudge vaguely similar to Beakley's face came into view. "Oh, thank heavens! You're awake!"

Lena's eyes squinted, adjusting to the light. "Agh... that you, Abby Road?"

A sigh. "Zero to sarcasm in less than five seconds. I knew you'd be okay."

Lena attempted to swallow, to no avail. "Water. Please."

A plastic cup with a bendy straw came into view. Lena drank greedily, swallowing huge gulps, feeling the cool liquid heal her throat. Two refills later, she felt almost normal.

Lena turned her head. On her left was a chair that Beakley had been sitting in, a paperback hanging half off the seat, forgotten. On the same side, a hospital nightstand, with an enormous vase full of purple and pink flowers and over a dozen get-well cards. She saw familiar names, like Huey, Dewey, and Louie's, their Uncle Donald, and many, many more, including one from someone named Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera. Front and center, was one signed with pink ink, a familiar name-

Lena sat up suddenly. "Webby! Where's Webby?! Where's-"

Beakley cleared her throat, and pointed to Lena's right. She turned her head.

There, on the right side of the bed, was Webbigail Vanderquack, sat on a stool, half on the bed. She was asleep, drooling into Lena's blanket. Her hand was holding Lena's, just as she had in the void, even as she slept. The friendship bracelet, burned almost black, was clutched tightly in her other hand, tucked under her chin.

From behind her, Lena heard Beakley's soft voice. "She hasn't moved since you got here. She insisted on staying. I had to pry her away so they could dress your arm." Lena glanced to her left. Her arm was clad in a white cast. Huey, Dewey, and Louie had already signed it, in red, blue, and green ink respectively. She smirked. Some things never change. She turned the cast and stopped. There, on the back, was Scrooge McDuck's spiraling cursive, along with a large "THANK YOU."

Beakley smiled, seeing Lena's expression. "Mr. McDuck paid for the best hospital room at Duckburg General. You saved his honorary niece, and..." Beakley paused. When she spoke, her voice cracked slightly. "...my granddaughter. I cannot thank you enough, Lena."

Lena smiled in spite of herself, wiping tears from her eyes with her cast. "Don't you start crying on me, Crumpets. I'll start crying too." Lena looked back at Webby, still smiling.

She realized, in that second, that she loved Webby Vanderquack with everything she had. Tears began to fall from her eyes, and she realized she was crying with happiness.

_Huh. So that's what that feels like. I didn't think that could actually happen._

Her heart full to bursting, Lena lay back, her hand still in Webby's. There would be time later, after Webby awoke, for catching up and crushing hugs and confessions and everything. For now, Lena was content to let the girl she loved sleep, feel her hand in hers, and bask in the happiness she would never have to give up again.

**Author's Note:**

> -UPDATE- On my honor, this was written and posted before the Season 1 finale aired, and I had no idea the Friendship Bracelet would actually come into play like that.


End file.
